research

First: meet Valerie, a Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix born with a perfect heart shape on her side (at the time of this pic, she was 16 days old): Aww! But there are more reasons to love dogs than their obvious cuteness factor—in fact, having a dog can come with some health benefits that you might not have known about. 1: They make you happy and also reduce stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that dogs are attuned to their owners' emotions—so much so, they may even mimic your behavior (like yawning!). But they're also great for elevating your mood and reducing the blues—some doctors say they may be better better than anti-depressants. 2: They can possibly sniff out cancer. Dogs' noses are way, way more sensitive than ours—to the point that some of them may even be able to smell cancer cells! Some studies—involving people with lung or breast cancer—found that pups can distinguish biochemical markers of cancer just by sniffing someone's breath. 3: They may help detect low blood sugar in their diabetic owners. Again owing to their keen sense of smell, dogs can detect when there are fluctuations in blood sugar, alerting their owners that it's time to inject read more

Sometimes, the best health advice is also the simplest...and how great is it when that happens? According to a new study, having a positive attitude can go a long way—in life in general, and even in your workouts. Researchers found that subjects who felt "powerless" were more likely to estimate the weights of boxes they had to pick up as being much heavier than they really were. Those who had a more positive attitude—who felt like they had some power in the world and in their lives—estimated the boxes' weight as much lighter. Worth it to at least try to grin at your next workout, right? The seemingly tiny act of smiling can offer its own health benefits too. A study from the University of Kansas found that smiling genuinely can drop your heart rate. In fact, the research even suggests that smiling while in the midst a stressful task can help your brain and body recover from the stress more quickly afterward. Another study in the European Heart Journal showed that participants with a more positive outlook were less likely to develop heart disease than Debbie Downers. Smiling can also just make you feel good. Not only does a read more

The word "bacteria" alone may be enough to give you the heebie-jeebies—but not all bacteria are bad. In fact, some of of them are good for your gut...possibly in more ways than one. Probiotics—most often found in yogurt and kefir (here are some foods that have them too) are the healthy bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms in your intestines, shooing away bad bacteria and doing their jobs to keep your digestive system tip-top. But new research is suggesting that probiotics may also play a role in helping you lose weight. Researchers from Universite Laval in Quebec teamed with Nestle to put 125 obese (but otherwise healthy) people on a calorie-restricted diet for 12 weeks. For the next 12 weeks, the participants were given a diet plan but without any calorie restrictions. During the entire study period, half the subjects took pills containing the same amount of probiotics found in a serving of yogurt; the other half took placebos. After the first 12 weeks, women taking probiotics lost an average 9.7 pounds; those not taking probiotics lost an average 5.7 pounds. And during the second 12 weeks, placebo-takers maintained their weight loss—but the women taking probiotics kept read more

You know...sometimes, our daily lives are so busy to the point that the only way we are going to possibly have lunch is to make a quick stop at a fast-food joint. Totally get it. And while there are plenty of ways to eat well on-the-go, that's pretty hard to remember that when your stomach is rumbling and all you can think about is FOOD. NOW. But! This new research may give you some more—er, you know, food for thought. According to a new study, for every fast-food transaction, the average body mass index of the whole country (in which that transaction took place) went up by .03. OK, so—experts aren't all in agreement as to whether or not BMI is the most perfect weight measurement (for example: someone who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 149 pounds has a BMI of 24—a healthy weight, according to the BMI charts. But if that same person gains a pound, her BMI registers as "overweight," and who knows? That pound could be all muscle). So there's that. But the researchers studied data on the number of fast-food transactions per capita from 1999 to 2008 in 25 countries and compared them read more

Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked with lower risk of heart disease and maybe even Alzheimer's. A new study just found that older women who consumed the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids had better preservation of their brain as they got older. And, sure, you can eat servings of fish such as salmon, trout, and tuna to get an infusion of these heart-and-brain-healthy omega-3s. You can pop a fish-oil pill, or slurp it from a spoon (in my own personal experience, this leads to fish-flavored burps later—but that may just be me). But you can also find omega-3s in some non-fish foods too. Eggs: But not just any eggs. The orbs produced by hens that eat plants and bugs—or are fed omega-3s in their grain—contain higher levels of omega-3s. "Organic" and "free range" designations can offer some clues as to how many fatty acids are in your eggs. Oatmeal: A bowl of oatmeal is heavenly on a cold morning. If you make yours with steel-cut or whole oats instead of the instant-mix stuff, you can get more than 50 percent of your recommended daily allowance of omega-3s. Mix in some flaxseed or chia seeds for extra fatty acids; both read more

Well, at least maybe there's an upside to freezing your buns off right now? According to research, regular exposure to cold air might help you lose weight. Wha? Well, the cool temperatures just might make your body burn more calories as it tries to keep its core temperature nice and warm. One possible reason: shivering. It produces heat, which helps keep you warm—but it also makes you expend five times more energy than you would normally. Another? When temperatures plummet, your stores of brown fat—which burn more calories to fuel the body than other kinds of fat—are called into action. In fact, one study found that several hours of hanging out in cold rooms increased the amount of brown fat in participants' bodies while decreasing the amount of white fat—meaning the brown fat was getting busy burning white fat. And another study discovered that people who spent two hours per day in a room that was heated to about 63 degrees—for six weeks—lost 5 percent of their body mass. But don't go building an igloo to live in just yet! There are downsides to regular exposure to cold—including the fact that you get used to the cold temps and shiver read more

If you, like me, wake up most mornings and find yourself wishing for three more blissful hours of snooze time—or, heck, one more hour that was even just so-so—this could be useful news. A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that participants who were told they'd gotten enough sleep—even if they hadn't—seemed to perform more efficiently the next day. Researchers from Colorado College asked students to rate how deeply they'd slept the night before, then gave them some quick background about how sleep affected cognitive abilities. They explained to the students that adults require 20 to 25 percent of REM sleep each night, and that getting any less than that makes them score lower and perform worse on tests. The researchers hooked the students up to equipment that measured brainwave frequency—but very trickily told them that it would also reveal how much REM sleep they'd gotten the night before, and did some pretend calculations that put each participant at either 16.2 percent REM sleep or 28.7 percent sleep. After learning their fake REM sleep numbers, participants took a test that measured attention levels and processing speed, which study authors say are affected by lack of sleep. read more

Sitting down for hours every day does more than just help promote "sitting-on-your-butt-all-day-itis," according to new research. It also shuts down a molecule called called lipoprotein lipase—which helps stimulate metabolism throughout the day. Previous research about sitting all day long has found that it can lead to chronic ailments such as obesity, depression, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even premature death. Erp. So this new study from Kansas State University examined data from nearly 200,000 men and women ages 45 to 106 (!). The study's authors found that sitting for long periods of time—even if the subjects exercised for 30 to 60 minutes a day, but spent the rest of their hours just sitting—meant that there was little muscular contraction in their bodies happening. And that led to the shutdown of lipoprotein lipase. The key to stopping this shutdown, say the researchers: standing up and moving around periodically. This is kinda hard advice for those of us in jobs where we're required to be sitting down for eight hours a day...but even a little movement can help. For example: Stand up and pace your office when you have a phone call; hit the water cooler when you need a drink, instead read more

Calling all caffeine lovers! If you're a fan of a daily injection of coffee, this may be news you can use.... A new study in Nature Neuroscience found that drinking 200 milligrams of caffeine (about the size of a "tall" cup at Starbucks, or two smaller cups) might boost your ability to remember subtle details. Researchers had participants (who didn't regularly drink caffeine) memorize a series of pictures. After committing the pics to memory, they were given either a caffeine pill or a placebo pill. A day later—after the caffeine had left their systems—the subjects had to pick out pictures that were different from the ones they'd seen the day before. Some of the photos looked similar to the ones they'd had to look at previously, but they weren't the same—so subjects had to seriously draw on their memory banks to remember if they all matched up. The results: Those who had ingested caffeine were much better at recognizing the new photos. According to study author Michael Yassa (by way of Forbes): "We've always known that caffeine has cognitive-enhancing effects, but its particular effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting has never been examined in detail in read more

Research has shown that listening to music while you exercise can be a definite "do": It can trick you into thinking you're not working out as hard as you are and even increase your endurance by as much as 15 percent. Plus, it's just nice—there are times I look forward to working out purely because it means the chance to listen to a new favorite song on repeat. Some studies have found that songs clocking in with 140 to 144 beats per minute are optimal for your workout (surprisingly, a good example of the right tempo is the fourth movement of Beethoven's Fourth Symphony!). Spotify combed through 6.7 million workout playlists of its users to find the songs that are most popular for sweating. Take a look—are any of these on your playlists (I'll admit right now that No. 9 is on mine)? 1. "The Monster," Eminem 2. "Timber," Pitbull 3. "Work B**ch," Britney Spears 4. "Wake Me Up," Avicii 5. "Leaving You," Various Artists 6. "Roar," Katy Perry 7. "Can’t Hold Us," Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 8. "Till I Collapse," Eminem 9. "Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke 10. "John Doe" (feat. Priscilla), B.o.B. But Spotify also teamed up with Costas read more

If "lose weight" is one of your New Year's resolutions, take a look at the results of this brand-new study. Researchers from Loma Linda University Health found that overweight adults who eat about half of this fruit at lunchtime can make them feel fuller, longer...which means there's more potential to lose weight. The fruit in question? The avocado! The study examined 26 overweight and moderately obese adults (who were otherwise healthy), ages 25 to 65. Participants ate lunches with or without avocados (it should be noted too that the Hass Avocado Board funded this study). The results: Adding avocado to a lunch meal caused a 23-percent increase in satisfaction and a 28-percent decreased desire to eat over the next five hours after eating, compared with the avocado-free lunch. And, over a three-hour period, adding avocado to lunch meant a 26-percent increase in satisfaction and 40-percent decreased desire to eat later on. Half an avocado has about 112 calories and 6 grams of fiber. Avocados are filled with heart-healthy fats, protein, potassium, and vitamins (such as B6, C, K, and B) and are also delicious—I've been smooshing up slices of avocado and smearing them on whole-wheat toast for breakfast lately. So read more

Exercising means sweating. But can you tell how good your workout is, based on how much you sweat? (This is post-workout Madonna, by the way, as means of perspiration-tinged illustration.) The answer: not always! According to The New York Times,, there aren't many extra health benefits associated with sweating more during a workout (other than helping keep you cooler and avoid overheating). But during vigorous exercise, your core temp rises as you fire up your internal heat, which can translate to more sweat. Still, sweating more doesn't necessarily mean you're burning more fat. You could be sweatier because of the hot temperature or humidity, for example (think about what it's like to sit in a sauna—you sweat, which could help clear your body of a small amount of toxins, but you're probably not burning a huge amount of excess calories while doing so). FitSugar reports that the process of sweating doesn't require more calorie-burning; that it's the combination of heart rate and effort that counts as a better indicator of how much energy you're expending during a workout. Sweating a lot also means that you're losing more water from your body overall—so it is an indicator that you should keep read more

If you're a tomato fan, you'll love this news—and if you're not, well...maybe this will inspire you to try a bite or two? According to a just-published study by Rutgers University in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a diet that's filled with tomatoes leads to higher levels of a hormone called adiponectin, which regulates blood sugar and fat metabolism. Why does that matter? Research has shown that higher levels of adiponectin may be associated with a lower chance of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Right, you're probably not postmenopausal at this exact moment in time. Still! Tomatoes are filled with vitamin C (good for a boost to the immune system) and the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene, plus beta-carotene, which helps make your skin less susceptible to UV damage, and, in general, look very pretty. Plus, one serving of tomatoes provides 2 grams of filling fiber, and eating plenty of fruits and veggies overall can help protect against high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes, and heart disease. If you want some tomato-y recipes, well...don't you fret: * Roasted tomatoes * Black-eyed pea, tomato, and goat cheese salad * Feel-better fast Thai tomato soup Do you like tomatoes? How read more

When you suffer from depression, it impacts your body and brain in very real ways. And now, according to a new study, there's something else to add to the list: Depression may make you age more quickly. In a study published in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers examined chromosomes within the cells of 2,400 Dutch participants. They were looking at telomeres—DNA strands at the tips of the chromosomes—and discovered that people with depression had significantly shorter telomeres, which also grew shorter every year. (Short telomeres have been linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and other health problems.) The researchers say that study participants who'd suffered clinical depression for two or more years actually aged seven to 10 years (when compared with non-depressed participants). The upshot? The study's authors write: "This study provides convincing evidence for the suggestion than an emotional stressful condition, such as [depression], may truly impact on the physical 'wear and tear' of a person’s body resulting in accelerated biological aging." But, they add, there's still more research needed—while they see a connection, they can't say it's an actual cause-and-effect relationship, as there may be other factors at play. So interesting! Any thoughts or reactions to the study? read more

When you're trying to find the motivation to eat well and exercise regularly, "my significant other will looooove the results" can occasionally have a spot on the "reasons to exercise" list. Oh, yes—I'll cop to it! But according to a new study, that possible "do" might actually turn out to be a "don't" when it comes to your relationship. Researchers at North Carolina State University studied 21 U.S. couples—all of whom who had a partner who had lost an average of 30 to 60 pounds within a two-year time span. All were given questionnaires inquiring as to how the weight loss had made a difference with their relationship. In some cases, communication improved after the weight was lost—those who had shed pounds were usually more likely to talk about how to live healthily and even try to inspire their partners to exercise or eat better. When the other partners were into the idea, the relationships were fine—and sometimes even a little more intimate. But! Some partners felt like their now-lighter significant others were nagging them—and that, as you might imagine, caused a little tension. In fact, there were a few partners who felt "threatened" and "insecure" once their significant others read more

Will science ever run out of reasons that we should get more sleep? Here's the newest research: A good night's sleep sweeps toxins from your brain. According to a new study of sleeping mice in Science, cerebrospinal fluid increases significantly while we sleep, which scrubs away dangerous waste proteins in our brain that builds up while we're awake. The researchers say that the brain-scrubbing fluid is important because the harmful proteins are actually toxic to our brain cells—which might explain why we feel fuzzy-headed after a poor night's sleep and even why sleep disorders are often linked with brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's and dementia. And because it takes a lot of energy to increase the fluid and sweep out the "brain gunk," your body only really gets the chance to do it when it's sleeping—after all, during the day, it's busy helping you walk, think, read, exercise, catch the train on time, remember a lunch date, and all kinds of other things we're not even aware of. Hey, maybe it's just another reason to sleep in a little this weekend, right? More about sleep: * Clinton Kelly's fabulous sleep tips * How to take the healthiest nap ever * read more

Cookie Monster's cookie obsession suddenly makes a lot more sense. According to a new study from Connecticut College, Oreos are just as addictive as cocaine. Well, for rats, they are—but the researchers suspect that the results may be just as relevant for humans. Researchers trained rats to race through mazes. There were Oreos to one side of the maze and plain old rice cakes on the other, while another maze featured cocaine and morphine to one side and the same rice cakes on the other. As you might guess, the rats ignored the side with the rice cakes. And, after eating the Oreos, there was a strong presence of a protein called c-Fos in the "pleasure center" of the rats' brains—more so than even after they used (is there a better word for rats on drugs? Ate? Chewed? Abused? I don't know!) the drugs. Says the study's lead researcher, Joseph Schroeder: "Our research supports the theory that high-fat/high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do. It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them." Which means that, yes, drugs are health hazards—but it's possible read more

Cue a boatload of peanut butter sales! According to brand-new research, scientists think there might be a new test to determine whether or not you might have early-stage Alzheimer's, and it involves just two ingredients: a ruler and a scoop of peanut butter. Researchers at the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste have found that people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease seem to have more difficulty smelling peanut butter just in front of their noses than people without the disease. According to the research, being able to smell is associated with the first cranial nerve—called the olfactory nerve—which is often one of the first things to be affected during cognitive decline. Even before you notice any sort of memory loss. Here's what happened: Researchers took a tablespoon of peanut butter and a ruler, then asked more than 90 people with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's, other forms of dementia, or zero neurological problems, to close their eyes and mouths while blocking one nostril. Then, they moved a peanut butter container up, one centimeter at a time, until the participant could smell the scent. Ninety seconds later, the researchers repeated the experiment on the other nostril. The results: read more

When your body is overtired, you know it—and it makes exercise that much more challenging to deal with. But new research shows that if your brain is overtired, it may make working out harder too, no matter how energized your body may be. The new study, by scientists from the University of Kent in England and the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, found that too much thinking leads to a kind of fatigue that makes your body tired and subsequent workouts shorter and more exhausting. The research involved putting volunteers through a 90-minute computer test, where they watched letters flash by, counted them, and had to punch various keys—the test is known to induce mental fatigue, and, honestly, even writing about it is making me yawn. The volunteers also watched a relaxing 90-minute movie called Earth. After each event, the participants exercised at a specialized one-legged ergometer to the point of muscular exhaustion. After doing the computer test, the participants ended up getting tired about 13 percent faster than after watching Earth; they also said that the post-computer exercising felt way worse. Which essentially means, according to researchers, that exercise simply feels harder when your brain is tired—so read more

The movies make it seem like heart attacks are easy to self-diagnose—your arm loses feeling, you clutch your heart, you fall over. But the truth is that the symptoms may be way less easy to identify—especially for women. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women—and lots of us miss the symptoms when they're happening. We're usually busy taking care of our friends and families, and just chalk up our feeling weird-ness to things like acid reflux, the flu, or just general aging. Some of our symptoms are "silent"—and a lot more confusing. Like: * Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. The feeling lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. * You feel pain or discomfort in your jaw, neck, stomach, back, or your arm(s). This is apparently more common in women than in men, and very easy to dismiss (especially the jaw and neck pain). And you might think your stomach pain is due to acid reflux or heartburn. Experts say you should report any atypical, unexplained pain that you feel above your waist to your physician. * You feel short read more